A dark, wintry morning for some

Power outages in Mishawaka, Granger may not be related.

Power outages in Mishawaka, Granger may not be related.

December 23, 2005|PABLO ROS Tribune Staff Writer

Terry Lambert, a Granger resident, was baking Christmas treats when the power in her home went out Thursday morning. She didn't know quite what to make of it. "At first I thought it was ice on the lines," she said. Lambert said the electricity came back 30 seconds later but went out and came back again about 10 times before it finally stabilized about 10 a.m. Local residents were left in the dark or experienced a series of momentary power outages from about 7:30 to 9:50 a.m., according to a spokesman for Indiana Michigan Power. David Mayne of the power company said 220 Granger residents in the Knollwood area were left without power for two and a half hours because of a jumper wire burning off a utility pole along Hickory Road. The cause of its malfunction is unknown, Mayne said, but there could be any number of explanations. The incident did not affect Mishawaka or South Bend residents, he said. Mayne added that he did not know whether this incident was related to a power outage in Mishawaka that affected close to 2,000 Indiana Michigan Power customers. Manager Eric Uitdenhowen of the electric division of Mishawaka Utilities said the electrical problems experienced by 1,933 Mishawaka customers early Thursday morning originated in a faulty insulator at the city's University Park substation. A ceramic device that is supposed to isolate two electrical contact points malfunctioned for an unknown reason, Uitdenhowen said, causing "little sparks." The problem is termed a "flashover." Mishawaka Utilities proceeded to shut down that particular substation in order to address the problem, Uitdenhowen said. Although such malfunctioning is uncommon, he said, it can potentially cause equipment to blow up. Uitdenhowen said the problem affected Mishawaka residents between Douglas and Cleveland roads. He added that he did not know whether the power outages in Mishawaka and Granger were related, and said that no South Bend residents had been affected. The malfunction occurred about 7:45 a.m., Uitdenhowen said, and the substation was shut down shortly after 8 a.m., causing a power outage to local customers. By 9:50 a.m., power had been restored, he said. As of Thursday afternoon, Mishawaka Utilities was checking for damage in the University Park substation, he said. Capt. Dan Gebo of the Mishawaka Police Department said officers directed traffic for some time and placed portable stop signs at a few intersections along Main Street. But the power outage was not a serious problem to police, he said. Staff writer Pablo Ros: pros@sbtinfo.com (574) 235-6555